After I began this weblog I by no means imagined that it might go on for thus lengthy. And it isn’t simply clocking yr after yr. Songs of Yore is probably the one place the place you can find a complete sequence on Arrangers and Musicians, the individuals who embellished the songs with numerous instrumental preludes, interludes and postludes, however who remained backstage. The sequence began in January 2023 and after 14 articles has come to a detailed in April 2024. Our familiarity with names like Sebastian D’Souza, Van Shipley, Anthony Gonsalves, Goody Seervai, Manohari Singh and so on. could not have been extra than simply figuring out their names. The sequence helped us know extra about them and likewise join well-known songs they have been related to. We will’t thank sufficient the visitor authors Piyush M Pandya (Gujarati unique) and Ashok M Vaishnav (English translation) who wrote the articles within the sequence. They so fittingly titled every article as “The Sculptors of Movie Music”. Our indefatigable DP Rangan turned out quite a few visitor articles on quite a lot of themes.
SOY heralded the brand new yr 2024 by celebrating Rafi’s centenary yr along with his solos from A to Z. He was the undisputed most versatile singer. As Rafi’s delivery centenary falls on 24 December 2024 there can be articles yr spherical. Some SOY regulars are often called passionate followers of Rafi, equivalent to Sivanandam Palamadai, they usually have additionally paid their tributes to him as visitor authors.
A. Rafi and Ram
Should you lived anyplace in north India, you couldn’t miss the frenzy round Lord Ram’s Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya (22 January, 2024). I used to be on a deliberate trip about that point down south, primarily to flee the biting chilly of NCR, however I realised that, coincidentally, I used to be additionally away from the frenzy in my gated society, which was not such a foul factor.
Round that point I heard a phenomenal bhajan by Rafi devoted to Ram. Rafi was a deeply religious individual, his devotion was transcendental. He has sung devotional songs for all faiths in addition to a number of non-denominational songs, and in case you look rigorously he has sung many bhajans devoted to Ram too. Very early in his profession he had sung Jai Raghunandan jai Siyaram and Madhur Ram ka naam jag mein within the movie Shri Ram Bhakt Hanuman (1948), composed by SN Tripathi. Some years later he sang Mere man mein hain Ram mere tan mein hain Ram within the movie Pawanputra Hanuman (1957), composed by Chitragupta, SN Tripathi’s protégé. By the way, SN Tripathi performed Hanuman within the movie and the tune was picturised on him.
1. Mere man mein hain Ram, mere tan mein hain Ram by Rafi from Pawanputra Hanuman (1957), lyrics Saraswati Kumar ‘Deepak’, music Chitragupta
B. Rashid Khan (1 July 1968 – 9 January 2024)
The yr started with a really unhappy information about Ustad Rashid Khan’s demise. This was deeply stunning to me, as a result of I had no clue about his ailment and the information got here as a whole shock to me. I had been mesmerised by his full-throated voice which was melodious on the similar time since I first heard his Karam kar deeje in Raag Desh way back. Different legendary singers who handed away within the final couple of years have been nicely previous their prime; a classical singer flowers on the age of 55.
The main torch-bearer of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, like all nice singer he took inspiration from numerous gharanas. As a toddler he didn’t have a lot curiosity in research or in music – his maternal uncle, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, had obtained him admitted to an English medium faculty in Mumbai, however he ran away to his dwelling in Badayun. However there have to be one thing in his future. When his maternal granduncle, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, the doyen of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, was invited by Sangeet Analysis Academy, ITC Kolkata to affix them as a Resident Scholar (Guru); he introduced the boy Rashid together with him, made him his ganda bandh disciple and his coaching began in proper earnest. In his early 20’s Rashid Khan was hailed as the way forward for classical music in India, and was wanted by nice musicians of the time, equivalent to Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Nikhil Banerjee, Ravi Shankar and so on. to listen to him reside.
There was a great deal of chatter within the media about his Aaoge jab tum saajna angana phool khile (Jab We Met, 2007). This lovely tune exhibits Rashid’s mastery throughout genres and universality of classical music. I had not given a lot thought whether or not he had sung another songs in movies when a good friend, Abhijit Dasgupta, shared this tune from the Bengali movie Kadambari (2015), sung by Ustad Rashid Khan. I’m posting Bhara baadar maha baadar shunya mandir extra from Kadambari, with Abhijit’s equally lovely feedback.
2. Bhara baadar maha baadar shunya mandir extra by Rashid Khan from Kadambari (Bengali, 2015), lyrics Vidyapati, melody Rabindranath Tagore, music association Bickram Ghosh
Abhijit Dasgupta’s notes:
“Bhanusingher Padavali”
A group of Vaishnavite Radha-Krishna theme-based poems by an adolescent Rabindranath, all 16/17 years of age, used the delicately crafted language known as “Brajabuli”. A mix of Maithili and Bengali with a sprinkling of Sanskrit (for the pure Tatsam phrases), it was a quite synthetic assemble, adopted by just a few medieval Bengali Vaishnav poets like Jnandas, who have been impressed by Vidyapati of Mithila’s royal court docket.
The girl in Rabindranath’s poems was his sister-in-law Kadambari Devi, the spouse of his third elder brother Sejda or Jyotida, Jyotinindranath Thakur.
The early biography of Rabindranath by Prabhat Mukhopadhyay, written in his lifetime, briefly touched upon the connection between him and Kadambari Devi, describing it as considered one of “Priti” (a halfway-house expression connoting a sense someplace between mere affection and a deeper attachment). Compared, trendy biographers are much less restrained. They declare it as a relationship of Love. Rabindranath’s intensive, tender and nostalgic recollection of the time spent in Kadambari’s firm and his lengthy grief and sense of private loss on her loss of life help this speculation strongly. His grief over the loss of life of his personal spouse, who additionally died very younger, figures nowhere in depth. Kadambari continued to be his Muse for many years.
There was some suspicion and hypothesis concerning the actual purpose why Kadambari took her personal life. Rabindranath married Mrinalini in December 1883, Kadambari took her personal life in April 1884, simply after 4 months. Was she mortally heartbroken after his marriage with Mrinalini (a reputation given to her by Rabindranath after marriage) or by her husband Jyotinindranath’s infidelity (Kadambari knew he had saved a mistress secretly in one other home)?
She additionally felt depressing that she was handled shabbily as an individual of a poor and lowly background as her father was an worker of the Jorasanko Thakur family. She remained depressed that her husband didn’t give her any time in any respect, as he was busy in his numerous actions like theatre, Swadeshi work and his so-called enterprise ventures like a delivery firm (to ferry individuals of East Bengal to Calcutta) which crashed completely.
Kadambari couldn’t conceive, although she was fairly determined for a kid. Within the Thakur family, she was branded as a lady who was infertile, ‘banddha‘. As per prevailing social norms these days, the girl was thought-about incapable, not her husband. Below the circumstances, she discovered that her younger brother-in-law Rabindranath was her solely firm, her sole consolation zone. However with Rabindranath’s marriage, she realised the futility of their relationship. There was a complete vacancy in her life with nothing worthwhile for her to look ahead to. The proficient lady ended her life, a relentless tragedy, feeling deserted by everybody round her. (Within the movie ‘Kadambari’ with Konkona Sen Sharma within the eponymous function, the ultimate nail within the coffin prompting her to take her personal life has to do along with her husband. – AK)
After she dedicated suicide, there was unsavoury discuss of a darkish deed in Jorasanko Thakurbari. It was extensively believed at the moment that Rabindranath’s father Maharshi Debendranath Thakur bribed the English Civil Surgeon to not certify Kadambari’s loss of life by suicide as an unnatural loss of life. The physique was quietly cremated with none post-mortem and autopsy and, after all, with none extra fuss.
This tune gave me goosebumps and led me to browse Rashid Khan’s extra Bengali songs and Rabindra Sangeet. It’s a treasure trove. One which particularly floored me was Ke boshile aji hridayasane bhuvane in Raag Kafi. Many doyens of Rabindra Sangeet have sung it, however Rashid Khan’s interpretation is exceptionally good. That is sung in tappa fashion, which sounds extra religious than thumri, however I ought to suppose tappa can be abhorrent for Rabindra Sangeet for Bengali sensibilities.
3. Ke boshile aji hridayasane bhuvane by Rashid Khan, lyrics and music by Rabidranath Tagore
A web site provides its translation by Anjan Ganguly as:
I’m unable to recognise you, O Lord of the earth,
Reveal on the throne inside my coronary heart, my Grasp,
You arouse a stupendous aura, O Lord of the center.
Unbelievably arid tree begins blossoming,
Nectar trickles down the rock.
C. Rediscovery of the tune of Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hun
I not too long ago heard this unheard Hemant Kumar tune from the movie Shart (1954).
4. Mohabbat mein meri tarah jo luta ho, mere saath wo bhi gale milkar ro le by Hemant Kumar from Shart (1954), lyrics SH Bihari, music Hemant Kumar
Shart is legendary for the everlasting twin tune by Hemant Kumar/ Geeta Dutt, Ne ye chaand hoga na tare rahenge, magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge, and likewise Hemant Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar duet, Dekho wo chaand chupke karta hai kya ishaare. I discovered uncanny similarity between the tune of Mohabbat mein meri tarah jo luta ho and Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hun by Mahendra Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar from Dhool Ka Phool (1959).
5. Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hun wafa kar raha hun wafa chahta hun by Mahendra Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar from Dhool Ka Phool (1959), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music N Datta
For the reason that latter tune got here 5 years later, my first thought was that it was impressed from Hemant Kumar’s earlier tune. However one way or the other I felt that each these songs could also be impressed from a 3rd inventory tune. My good friend, Brijeshwar Singh, confirmed my hunch and shared this ghazal by Malika Pukhraj, as the principle inspiration for Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hun.
6. Are maygusaaro savere savere, kharabat ke gird phere pe phere by Malika Pukhraj Ghazal by (Abdul Adam?)
Maygusaro refers to individuals given to consuming and kharabat means tavern. These phrases are utilized in a mystical sense. Maybe the sense of the ghazal is, O you drinkers! You who cling across the tavern from morning are the blessed ones as you lose all sense of actuality! Educated readers could please assist in that means of the ghazal.
For the reason that yr of Malika Pukhraj’s recital isn’t recognized, my search isn’t but full. It’s fairly attainable that every one the three songs/ghazals are impressed from a pre-existing conventional tune. And I might not be stunned if one of many SOY stalwarts posts a standard tune of antiquity.
D. Ameen Sayani (21 December 1932 – 20 February 2024)
Ameen Sayani was not a singer, or a music director or an arranger or a musician. But there’s not one fan of previous Hindi movie music who isn’t conscious of him. That form of celebrityhood for a radio announcer is exclusive. His asset was his baritone voice which established a reference to the listeners along with his opening, ‘Behno aur bhaiyo’, and his deep information about and affinity with Hindi movie songs. Born right into a Gujarati Muslim household and educated in an English medium faculty, Hindi was not his pure language. He transformed this constraint into an asset by talking in a easy accessible language. That language turned the lingua franca of the nation, and Hindi movie songs a unifying issue of our numerous nation with many languages and cultures. The person who ran a sponsored songs countdown programme for 42 years each week, who compered and introduced hundreds of different programmes, who had cameo roles in some movies as a radio announcer, who coined phrases like payadan, sartaj, and who was the voice the nation waited for week after week – I pay my tributes to this nice man.
I finish my anniversary publish by thanking all of the readers, and pals who aren’t energetic on the weblog who enlighten me with new musical data.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
The tune hyperlinks have been embedded just for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This weblog claims no copyright over them which vests with the respective copyright house owners.
